The wait was on as April wound down for CBS to make a decision about NCIS: Hawai'i, following the recent cancellations of So Help Me Todd and CSI: Vegas. Given that NCIS was renewed for Season 22 and two more spinoffs are in the works, the odds of more for Jane Tennant and Co. in the Aloha State didn't seem too bad. Sadly, the show has now been cancelled and is set to air its final episode after three seasons soon in the 2024 TV schedule.
Now that NCIS: Hawai'i can be cut from the list of major network shows needing to be cancelled or renewed, check out what's happened in what remains of the show!
NCIS: Hawai'i Is Ending
Despite becoming a breakout hit for CBS earlier in its run, NCIS: Hawai'i got fewer episodes than usual due to the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike, and Deadline reports that the upcoming tenth episode of Season 3 will also be the series finale.
The cancellation means that Hawai'i is the show in the NCIS franchise to run for the fewest seasons before ending, as the original and Sydney are still going, NCIS: LA lasted fourteen seasons, NCIS: New Orleans ran for seven seasons, NCIS: Origins is set for a fall premiere to expand Gibbs' story, and the Tony/Ziva spinoff doesn't yet have a premiere date.
The outlet reports that CBS' cancellation comes despite some effort from the show to earn at least a shortened fourth season. Producers reportedly agreed to a significant cut to the budget for a Season 4, with other concessions not ruled out. Budget cuts have at least helped save other CBS shows in the past, including Bob Hearts Abishola (which demoted almost all of its series regulars) and Blue Bloods requiring pay cuts for stars like Donnie Wahlberg. Both Bob Hearts Abishola and Blue Bloods will end after the current seasons, which can at least be used to tie off loose ends.
Alas, that isn't the case for NCIS: Hawai'i, which means that my dream of a full NCIS Monday in the fall – comprised of the original show's Season 22, NCIS: Hawai'i Season 4, and NCIS: Origins Season 1 – is dead.
What We Know About The Finale
The series finale, previously billed as the Season 3 finale, is called "Divided We Conquer" and will air on Monday, May 6 at 10 p.m. ET. The episode will also be the second of a two-part finale event, immediately following the NCIS Season 21 finale on May 6. Ending on a two-parter means that the only two remaining episodes of Hawai'i will be for that event. Here's the official description for "Divided We Conquer," courtesy of CBS:
Following a devastating ambush with a deadly bioweapon, the NCIS team must track down a mysterious terrorist group before they can strike again, on the conclusion of the two-part third season finale.
The same Deadline report that confirmed the cancellation also cites sources that even though "Divided We Conquer" was only intended to be a season finale rather than a series finale, the episode won't end on a huge cliffhanger. There are expected to be teases of how the story would pick up in a fourth season, but hopefully none so suspenseful that fans will be soured on the finale.
Fans can also speculate that NCIS Season 22 or even the Tiva spinoff – both presumably taking place in the present day – could tie off some loose ends when they premiere, but it's much too early to pin any hopes on that. For now, perhaps it can be some consolation that the cancellation comes ahead of the finale rather than after, by which point we would have had more time to get our hopes up.
In the final weeks before the credits roll on NCIS: Hawai'i, you can look forward to Part 1 of the two-part finale event on Monday, April 29 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, ahead of the series finale the next week. NCIS: LA alum LL Cool J will appear. You can also revisit earlier episodes of NCIS: Hawai'i streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.
